Golden State Warriors Playoff Rotation: Who’s In and Who’s Out?

February 20, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors center

(5) shoots the basketball against San Antonio Spurs center

(33) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Marresse Speights

This season Marresse Speights has established himself as one of the best bench big men in the league, dominating opponents despite his limited minutes per game.

As Golden State plays a system that doesn’t allow for Speights and Andrew Bogut to be on the floor together often, and because Speights doesn’t bring as much to the table defensively as Bogut, he has been limited to only 16 minutes per game. But his statistics when projected over 36 minutes give a little insight to just how good Speights has been this year. Though he is averaging the most shots per game of his career, Speights is hitting nearly 50% of his shoots and over 36 minutes would be projected to average 23.5 points and 9.7 rebounds.

Obviously, Speights wouldn’t just turn into Anthony Davis if Kerr played him for 20 more minutes a game, but his numbers indicate how much of an impact he has despite playing so few minutes.

Plus, he’s shown that he isn’t afraid to mix it up at times which is invaluable in the postseason, where teams feast on opponents that appear scared. Every champion has an enforcer and Golden State has Speights.

Verdict: In.

Next: Lee